Walking into your first class in the morning, a number of worries are already on your mind. On top of homework, tests, school practices and meetings, studying, and family obligations, now you have to balance everything at once – literally.

There’s one more thing to balance this school year because your backpack is missing. And in its place: a pile of heavy books.

Walking into, out of, and to or from any given class, a student at Rocky River High School is guaranteed to hear the word “backpack” – probably followed by a heated complaint or an eye roll of irritation. We all are aware of the new controversial rule banning backpacks of all kinds during school hours.

Frankly, there are far too many problems with this decision to overlook. Ninety-one students out of the 100 surveyed agree with this and are unhappy with the new rule. No surprises there. Common complaints were that student’s arms are hurting from the weight, and that there isn’t enough time for frequent locker stops, causing people to be late to classes. Not to mention that people dropping books are causing more of a problem in the hallways than backpacks ever did.

The administration has their reasons for enforcing the new rule, among them backpacks causing a potential safety hazard, particularly lab safety, and overcrowded hallways and classrooms.

Nothing has changed in terms of how much space is taken up, and the hallways are just as crowded. Students know from experience that it doesn’t make any difference in how much space is taken up if the books are on our backs or in our arms. However, heavy books and binders are nearly impossible to carry for some and incredibly uncomfortable for others.

In the event of an emergency evacuation, books and supplies would still be in the way, regardless of how they are carried. It is just as easy to trip over or run into a stack of books as it is a book bag – even more so because the pile is able to be knocked over and spread across the floor.

A common fault found is how easy it has become to lose smaller items, such as costly calculators, smaller books, pencils, pens, foreign language dictionaries, and plan books. Without the convenience of the space in a backpack, these supplies tend to be forgotten.

Girls can carry these smaller items in purses. However, boys aren’t as lucky. Although no boys have been spotted carrying a purse, it doesn’t violate school dress code. Not many of them would like to be seen carrying one, causing them to be an unfair advantage for girls.

The adjustment for freshman has also been made especially difficult by the new rule, even though backpacks weren’t allowed at the middle school. Coming from a much smaller school that’s organized into wings, making the change has been made a lot harder by the frequent locker stops and having to rush from one end of the building to another.

We can understand that some students carry their entire locker in their backpacks. It would make much more sense to keep the books in classrooms, and to utilize online textbooks at home, which are available to most science classes. Saving paper and room would eliminate two problems. And who says that backpacks have to be in the middle of aisles of desks? We can use hooks on the walls of classrooms to keep them out of the way, or even line them up against a wall.

The administration may see their solution as being unavoidable, but on the contrary, there are many alternatives to the extreme length of banning backpacks altogether.

After all, we’re supposed to come to class prepared.